Roll collar



March 14, 1950 J. v. COHN 2,500,911

ROLL COLLAR Filed Nov. 3, 1947 INVENTOR. e/qcoe Z Col/N BYLMWZM ATTaRus v:

Patented Mar. 14,1950

UNITED STATESj' RULL'I COLL AR J-acob-V-Cbhn, Detroit; Michal- Application N Member 3, 1947,,Serial.N6. 78'3,807"

3 (llaimsw 1.

This invention relates to'a' collarfor" an article" ofapparel.

More particularly it relates to collars'forshirts.

The first'portion of a' clean'shirt to become mussed or show signs of wear'isthe collar; Col lars become wrinkled; curledand"dirty before the other'portions of the shirt'because they are" exposed moreto the atmospheric conditions and' to perspiration from' the neck of the wearer. Thecollars are'also apt to'become wrinkled be cause of the frequency'with which'the collar is bent due tomovement of the head and neck of the wearer, etc. Toimprove'the'resistance of the collar to wrinkling; wilting, etc., various means have been suggested and employed; For example, fused collars which comprise a layer of laminated fabrics made by uniting two or more pieces of fabrics by means of thermoplastic threads or materials have been suggested andare used extensively. Even with this type of collarthe points of the collar will curl and become otherwise distorted. To overcome curl in the points of the collar it'has also been proposed to provide'for the insertion of removable stays in the collar points. For example, a slot is provided on the under surface of the collar points and small strips of relatively stiff material such as Celluloid is provided to be inserted'in the slots during. wearing. These stays must be" removed during laundering and are often lost. Furthermore, they are sometimes difiicult to insertin' a freshly laundered shirt: and so ordinarily they are left out by the wearer.

Recently the roll type of collar has become popular in the trade. Aside from different style effects which it produces the roll collar has certain other advantages such as not being easily distorted by a heavy tie and being very well adapted to be worn either open as. a sport shirt. or closed as a dress shirt. With roll collars the. points of the collar are ordinarily made longer than usual so that there is-more of the point to curl. The roll referred to is a convex outward curve in the collar between the neck band and the points.

I have now found that itis possible to produce a roll collar which has a' smooth even curvature and which has much greater resistance to wrinkling and crushing than previous collars. The stiff smooth roll'or curvature which my collar has is inherent from the construction of the collar and is'not dependent uponthexaddition of stays or similar types of structures;

An' object of this inventiorristoproducea-roll" a" flexible-but stiff fabric insert; The insert ismade" of int'erlining-"materiall At theedge-of eachwing of' the collar-the -insert extends --be-- tween the point of wing and-theneckbandofthe collar. It may-"extend into' and'be anchored as bysewing-inthe neckband: The insert does not eXtendinto-the' outside portion-of the back of thecollar or in other words at the-part intermediate the-"collar *points' or wi-ngsgalthough, if desired,- the insert may extend-all around the neckbandpart-bf the-collars At some areabetween the points-andthe backof the collar, the insert is cut on a bias sloping away from the-points. The

- edge -portions-ofi the insert may be'sewed to the liningand/oroutside=fabric of the collar. The

biascut edges may be unattached to the remainder of the collar or they may be sewed to-the inside orliner portion ofthe collar.

Tli'einsert is made-of interliner fabric or similar material! Various-types of interliner" fabrics maybe employech Dire'ctionallystiff interlinermateriali i; e., fabrics-which are stiifer in the-- directiomo'f" the-warp than in the direction-of employed-2' Orihterliner fabrics which are fairly stiiriirthe direction of bothwarp and woof-may be-employed. Fabrics-may be made more flexiblein onedirection-than inthe *other by making the warp or the' woef-at-least partly of animal fibers such as mohair; angora goat; wool, casein wool; or horsehairwhile-- employing cotton, vegetable 'fibers for the fibers in' theopposit'e' direc-- tion. Nylon and silk can also be employed for the fibersin-one directlon: It is also possible-to-increase or decrease the stiffnessof' the warp or woof of 'a fabric by treating-with a chemical wliichafiectsone set of'parallelfibers while he ing-inert tothe 'other set offfibers. For example;

soluble fibers such' as' fibers of cellulose acetate,

copoly'mersofivinyl chloride and vinyl" acetate; vinylidene chloride; etc:

A very important feature of the present inven- 515' tion relates to thewayin which" the insert of thenvoof or fillerthreads; or vice versa; maybe 'the filler fibersmay-contain' thermoplastic or" the interlining fabric is cut. The insert is cut so that its direction of greatest resistance to stretching is at least approximately along a line parallel to the neckband of the collar. The line of greatest stretchability or flexibility is diagonal with respect to the direction of greatest resistance to stretch and is therefore approximately parallel to the bias or diagonal edge of the insert. There is therefore a pronounced tendency for the insert to produce an even roll in the collar when it is stretched or extended. Thus, by manipulating the collar, as when ironing after washing, the insert can be extended in the direction of its greatest extensibility and owing to the increased resistance to stretching along the warp or woof of the fabric the insert will curve about an axis parallel to the direction of the stretch. This tendency to curve or curl when extended along a line diagonal to the warp or woof will be noted in any fabric, particularly in any plane woven fabric. Interliner fabrics are so constructed as to produce stiffness while also having flexibility. When the flexibility is greater along one set of threads (the warp or the woof) than along the other set, and when the insert is made with the direction of greatest stiffness parallel to the neckband, then the direction of greatest flexibility is in the direction of the roll of the collar and a neat, draped, roll effect is produced. When a rectangularly shaped fabric is stretched diagonally, there is a tendency for the fabric to curl back and forth in two directions but by cutting the fabric diagonally or along a bias, this tendency to curl or roll in two directions is avoided.

The novel features characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective view partly cut away of a shirt containing the collar of the invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of one of the collar points.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the insert.

In Figure l the collar 3 is shown attached to l the shirt l and the collar is closed, in the drawing, by the button 2. As shown in the drawing the collar from an area adjacent the button 2 to the points 4 or 5 has a convex curvature with respect to the remainder of the shirt. This curvature is greatest close to the neckband adjacent the parts numbered 22 and 23. Although the collar is shown attached to a dress shirt it is obvious that it may be attached to any type of sport or dress shirt whether they may be mens, boys or ladies shirts. The collar may also be employed in the manufacture of jackets, coats, sweaters and any type of garment which employs a collar.

The collar itself is substantially the same as the ordinary collar except for the insert heretofore referred to and shown at l2 in the drawing. The collar shown comprises an outside fabric Ill (which may be of the same material as the shirt or may be the shirt material combined or fused to a stiffening fabric), a backing H and the insert 12. The parts of the collar are attached together in the usual way as for example by the stitches l3.

The insert comprises two end portions 3! and 32 adapted to extend into the points or wings of the collar and a narrow intermediate portion 33 which is equal to or slightly greater than the width of the neckband at the back of the shirt. One edge of each of the wings 3| and 32 of the insert is continuous with an edge of the intermediate portion 33 along the line 34 and this edge 32 is parallel to the edge of the collar where the collar is attached to the shirt. The edges 36, 31, 38 and 39 are also out to substantially coincide with edges of the finished collars. The edge 35 of the intermediate portion is connected to the edges 38 and 39 respectively by the bias or diagonal cut edges 40 and 4!. The parts of the insert which coincide with the edges of the collar may be sewed to the collar by a kind of French seam type of stitch 13 or its equivalent. The bias cut edges 40 and M of the insert are preferably sewed to the under :part H of the collar as shown at 42 but the stitches do not extend through the outside fabric ill. The bias cut edges 40 and ll may be left unattached to the remainder of the collar.

The point on the edge 27 of the collar from which the bias cut edges 40 or 4! begins to slope toward the intermediate portion 33 of the insert may be varied depending on the style, size of wings or other features desired in the collar.

Where the outside collar fabric ill is somewhat transparent an additional layer of fabric may be provided to prevent the insert 12 from showing through the outside fabric. Interliner fabrics ordinarily have some coloration and this extra lining fabric is desirable in some cases.

In the insert shown in Figure 3 the direction of greatest strength is along the line 5l5i and this line 5l-5i will form the top of the collar (as nearly as the top of a roll collar can be determined). The line 5i-5i is parallel to the warp threads 52 of the fabric. The woof threads 53 will preferably contain animal fibers such as horsehair, angora goat wool, or casein wool so as to give the fabric a slightly greater extensibility in the direction of the woof 53 than in the direction of the warp 52.

Contrary to expectations it has been found that after laundering the shirt the roll of the collar is actually improved. In fact, almost any manipulation of the collar such as ironing or working with the fingers, etc. causes the insert to roll more.

It will be seen that this invention provides a roll type of collar which has a smooth even roll or curvature which is more resistant to wilting and crushing than collars of the ordinary type.

When a fabric is used for the making of the insert which would have a likelihood of unravelling in the course of its use and laundering, it is desirable to enclose the fabric or treat it to prevent such unravelling. For example, the insert may be enclosed in other cloth in any suitable way, as for example by covering the insert with a fabric and stitching the covered material to the fabric in some suitable manner.

Alternatively, the exposed edges of the insert alone may be protected by means of a fabric folded over the marginal exposed areas and stitched thereto as for example one-quarter inch in from the edge. The covered material which thus protects the insert against ravelling not only does not impair the roll effect obtained by the insert but may improve that roll effect.

As a further alternative in the protection of the insert against unravelling, the exposed cut edges of the insert may be coated with a plastic material which acts to bind these exposed edges and prevents their unravelling. A suitable plastic material is for example, a cellulosic lacquer, such as cellulose acetate in a solvent, which is applied to the edges of the insert by dipping the insert in a solution or by brushing the plastic solution on to the edges. Upon drying the plastic sets and binds the exposed cut edges of the insert, thus preventing unravelling.

Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that many modifications thereof are possible. This invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a collar for an article of apparel which has a neck band, said collar being of the soft type adapted to fold over adjacent the neck band and having at least one Wing or point, the outer exposed fabric of the folded collar being formed from ordinary shirt fabric, the improvement which comprises at least one relatively stiff fabric insert attached beneath the outer fabric of the collar, the fabric of said insert material being relatively non-extensible in the direction of at least one of the warp and woof threads, but having a greater extensibility in a diagonal direction with respect to the warp and woof, said insert being substantially coextensive with the collar at a wing or point and extending into the neckband thereof but receding away from the outside edge of the collar said insert starting to recede diagonally at a point along the outside edge of the collar spaced inward from the collar point, toward the back of the collar and ending before the neckband is reached, said insert being cut from the fabric in such a Way that the direction of greatest strength of the insert along a line substantially parallel to the neckband of the collar and the diagonal receding line of the insert is substantially parallel to the direction of greatest extensibility.

2. In a collar for an article of apparel which has a neck band, said collar being of the soft type adapted to fold over adjacent the neck band and having two wings or points, the outer exposed fabric of the folded collar being formed from ordinary shirt fabric, the improvement which comprises at least one relatively stiff fabric insert attached beneath the outer fabric of the collar, the fabric of said insert material being relatively non-extensible in the direction of at least one of the warp and woof threads, but having a greater extensibility ina diagonal direction with respect to the warp and woof, said insert being substantially coextensive with the collar at the wings or points and extending into the neckband thereof but receding away from the outside edge of the collar said insert starting to recede diagonally at a point along the outside edges of the collar spaced inward from the collar points, toward the back of the collar, and ending before the neckband is reached, so that the pointed portions of said insert are connected at the back by a strip which is narrower than said collar, said insert being cut from the fabric in such a way that the direction of greatest strength of the insert is along a line substantially parallel to the neckband of the collar and the diagonal receding line of the insert is substantially parallel to the direction of greatest extensibility.

3. In a collar for an article of apparel which has a neck band, said collar being of the soft type adapted to fold over adjacent the neck band and having two wings or points, the outer exposed fabric of the folded collar being formed from ordinary shirt fabric, the improvement which comprises at least one relatively stiff fabric insert attached beneath the outer fabric of the collar, the fabric of said insert material being relatively non-extensible in the direction of at least one of the warp and woof threads, but having a greater extensibility in the diagonal direction with respect to the warp and Woof, said insert being substantially coextensive with the collar at the wings or points thereof but receding away from the outside edge of the collar said insert starting to recede diagonally at a point along said outside edge of the collar spaced inward from each collar point, toward the back of the collar, and ending before the neckband is reached the receded portions of the insert being connected by a narrow band, said insert being cut from the fabric in such a way that the direction of greatest strength of the insert is along a line substantially parallel to the neckband of the collar and the diagonal receding line of the insert is substantially parallel to the direction of greatest extensibility.

JACOB V. COHN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,589,846 Greenberg June 22, 1926 1,599,968 Lipman Sept. 14, 1926 2,354,205 Gleekman July 25, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 538,862 Great Britain Aug. 20, 1941 

